Professor West works with The Brookings Institution.

This is the second time I have to pleasure of speaking to Professor Darrell West. The first time was when on episode #059,  when we spoke about his previous book, “The Future of Work: Robots, AI, and Automation.”

Since then, Professor West has written another book called “Divided Politics, Divided Nation: Hyperconflict in the Trump Era”

The book is a family memoir about political polarization in the United States. He draws on his personal story of growing up as a fundamentalist Christian on a dairy farm in rural Ohio, then as an academic in the heart of the liberal East Coast establishment, Brown University.

On one side of his family, his two sisters are Christian fundamentalists (who love President Trump) on the other side his brother is gay and liberal (who doesn’t love trump).

Professor West talks about the era from President Regan to Trump and shares his insights on why the United States became so polarized.

In the United States, people divide themselves based on income, education, personal lifestyle, identity politics. 50% of Republicans would be upset if their kids married a Democrat.

Only 15% of U.S. counties generate 64% of U.S. GDP. Most of the economic activity is happening on the East Coast, in the West Coast, and a few metropolitan areas in between. So, great parts of America have been left behind, they are not profiting from the economic gains, they feel underpaid, and those are the people who ended up voting for Trump.

Social media is also to blame for the polarization in North America. Their algorithms are created in such a way that it feeds you the information that you want to see, and it hides the information that you don’t want to see, thus creating a false reality for people who supports any political party or lifestyle.

My own experience with divisiveness

I am a part-time photographer. I do weddings and corporate events. One of my friends decided not to refer me because I had photos of a gay couple on my photography website. I still love my friend. In spite of being homophobic, she is loving and does a lot of beautiful work, as a volunteer, for her community.

I have another friend, he hates Obama because he’s black and democrat; and loves Trump because he’s white and republican. On the other hand, this friend has so many wonderful qualities.

Are there any divisions among your family, friends, or co-workers? Please share on the comments below.

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